Slowly
by gaia09
Summary: England was just out in the eastern to get what America had owe him. After that, things were never really the same again. How is it that this is happening? EnglandxOC!Philippines with a bit of AmericaxOC!Philippines
1. Chapter I

Okay, to be brief: first Hetalia fanfic; Philippines OC; Country names; EnglandxPhilippinesxAmerica; Inaccurate history... capisce? (pronounced as ka-peesh)

* * *

**-Chapter I-**

England hooked his finger onto his collar as he pulled it lose. Sweat slowly trickled down from his temples down to his cheeks, down to his neck and finally soaked his button-down shirt. He had never felt so sticky and so uncomfortable before. And now he had grown to hate it. The small and clumped strands of his blonde hair had stuck to his forehead and temples like paper to paper with glue. He tried to catch his breath as much as possible to make up for the damn heat. He tried to fan himself. He already had taken off his sweater and his coat. All these ended up to one thing: failure.

_'Damn this heat'_ England thought as he huffed. _'No normal person could bear this damn heat... Augh!'_

Add to that his aching feet, his tired arms and his cracking head.

He twisted, he turned and now he had thought why he was here at the first place. Hell, he didn't even know if this is even _necessary_ at all. Why was he wasting a perfectly sound morning in traveling to the other side of the world just to get his payments?

"Damn it, America..." England muttered, closing his eyes and pinching his nosebridge to get into stability of mind again. "..._How_ could you have gotten _this_ far for a lazy ass like you?"

The sun was up and about in the sky, indicating it was noon. The palm trees around him stayed stationary as he walked. Some leaves from some trees fell as England stepped on them with a crackle that sounded like a cackle of a witch. The wind wasn't blowing and the sun seemed to hate him very much.

_"Ah... America left yesterday to check on a new colony. It's in the east."_

It was the exact lines Lithuania had said to him. Why was Lithuania at America's place? England shook his head at how messy and careless America can be. England had given the small country to America, knowing that he was a great help. And now, Lithuania was left to guard the house.

Stupid America.

"Augh..." England huffed tiredly as he looked at a field that looked like it was planted with nothing but rice. A well-built house stood somewhere at the side, somewhat nearer to the town. The house looked like Spain's handywork. "... Am I here?" He was too tired to know as he just asked the obvious rhetorical question.

For now, all he thought was cold beverage and a nice shelter to keep him from the sun.

His emerald eyes looked at the vast territory but landed on a silhouette that sweeped the front lawn of the house with hard work. It was a silhouette of a little girl.

He hesitated to approach the girl at first. But somehow, there was this attraction that powered his feet into walking a few more steps. An attraction that said: "Salvation!"

* * *

"Ah! This is the life!" America said as he sat back on the _tumba-tumba_ (1) that rocked him back and forth. It was good to be on top and he had celebrated this by rocking himself crazy to sleep, sipping constantly on cold beverages offered to him, and of course, cooling himself in front of an electric fan.

Feeling the cool breeze on his hot skin made him feel so pampered and on top of the world. He didn't care a damn about the glaring sun. All he now thought was resting on this nice chair without the care of the world. To heck with paper work! He could live here forever with someone to keep him comfortable.

"Kuya (2) America!" a squeeky little voice called.

America opened one diamond eye to see who it was. Suddenly, in raced in the balcony was a small girl, huffing and puffing her lungs out. Her tanned skin glistered with sweat, a product of hard work, as her black hair was held in a monstrous bun. You could say she was dirty as her checkered skirt was splattered with dried and cracked mud. Her petite hand had held onto another hand. A hand that one could say was familiar and way different from the smaller girl's.

This hand was fair and sweaty and manly. And it had belonged to England, who just now stood there, looking tired and annoyed and vexed.

"Kuya America!" the little girl squeeked again. Then, she pointed excitedly to England, who was baffled and confused, as seen on his face, at how the little girl pointed at him. He wanted to say she was rude but couldn't slap the hand away. Too precious for that.

"Ah! England!" America now said with a plastered smile. "How nice of you to come here!"

"I want my money back, you git," England stated, shaking off America's earlier greeting. "You owe me... a _lot_, dumb ass."

"Now, now," America mocked as he shook England's vegetable like hand. "That's no way to talk in front of a child! Oh, by the way this is Philippines, my new colony! Isn't she a nice pick?" America excitedly said as he shoved the little girl, now dubbed as Philippines, near England. England looked at the girl with curiosity and unnamed indifference. He raised a thick brow.

"Real charming," England blankly said as he glared at America. "My money?" he said, extending his arm and curled his fingers twice, indicating his impatient wait for America to hand his money.

Suddenly, when he thought that paper bills were set down on his hand, a hand-far smaller- had taken his hand. He felt it twisting and finally something wet. England looked down to see the little girl placing the back of his hand on her obviously sweaty forehead.

"_Mano po!" _(3) little Philippines had enthusiastically said. Then she paused into that position for a long time as if a remote control had been struck.

England now looked at Philippines with sheer curiosity. Add to that, he was completely weirded out. _What_ is this girl _doing_?

After reading the air, moments later, America crept close to the little girl's ear and with a sheepish smile, whispered to her: "He... he's English."

"Ah!" Philippines gasped, knowing quite well her mistake. She sheepishly turned to America as she nervously laughed. _"I... Ingles po ba?"_ (4) she whispered back, nervously. At which, America nodded.

England was all too confused at what was happening. Why was there whispering? Didn't they know he could completely hear them well? He wasn't amused... even for a bit!

Just when things turned out for the weirder, the little girl dubbed Philippines stood up straight, shook with her left hand, and saluted as if she were a soldier standing in front of a general. England didn't know if they were playing on him or whether or not to classify this as formal or not.

"G-good morning, sir-!"

"-Afternoon," America corrected.

"G-good afternoon, sir! _Magandang hapon, ho!_" (5) Philippines said, looking like she was stern but failed.

"G... good... afternoon?" was all England could say. He held onto the side of his head with his free hand as he tried to internalize and understand all of these things. But sadly, try as he could, he just could not decipher all of these. It was too much for his heated head. Was it the sun or was it of the unusual order of things? He just couldn't tell.

America, on the other hand, was too amused at England. Oh how he would cherish every bit of England's expression as his face turned and moved as if he didn't know what to feel at all. He began to chuckle lightle as he took Philippine's tanned arms and gave a gentle push. "Back to work, Philippines!" he cheerily said. Philippines looked back at America as she giggled.

"_Opo_ (6) Kuya America!" Philippines girlishly said as she ran along, her rubber slippers sounding against the wooden floor as she left.

America watched the little girl before putting a hand on a very confused England's shoulder. "Cute, isn't she?" America cheerily asked as he laughed at England's priceless confusion.

"I'm all too confused!" England exclaimed, holding his head into place.

* * *

Okay, so how was that for a first? Oh and references!  
1- _Tumba-tumba_ is a Philippine rocking chair. It's made of wood but it rocks lower than a normal rocking chair as if you could feel like you're falling backwards. "Fall" in Philippine vocabulary is _tumba_. Hence the name.

2- Kuya is a Philippine prefix you use before a name when you call someone older than you who's a boy. So you use it on older boys. Often times, this can be called for respect to male strangers. You can also omit the name so you could just say "Kuya" to an older sister. It is also a term for "brother" and is used for older brothers. The counterpart of a "kuya" is an "ate" (pronounced as ah-teh). Ate is used for girls but with the same functions that of "kuya".

3- _"Mano po!"_ is when you take the back of the hand of an older person and place it on your forehead. It is a sign of respect for older people.

4- "_I... Ingles po ba?"_ is a Filipino translation for: _"He is English?"_ or "_Oh, he's English?"_ At least, that's what I meant it to be.

5- "_Magandang hapon, ho!"_ is a direct Filipino translation for: _"Good afternoon!"_

6- _"Opo"_ is respectfully saying "yes" to an older person. Sometimes, it could be used for respect towards strangers.

Review by the way! ^^,


	2. Chapter II

Oh my... gee, thank you for the reviews! ^^, I really really _really_ appreciated them! And for you guys, this: the second chapter! Hope you enjoy! ^^,

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**-Chapter II-**

"You _what_?" England demanded, banging his fist on the wooden table. His green eyed glare went out strongly and forcefully toward the American who just sheepishly laughed and tried to calm him down. The heat was already unbearable and now _this_ had happened.

"R-relax... England..." America tried to shush. He placed a finger in front of his lips and laughed lightly. "Y-you'll wake Philippines up..."

England would have none of it. England had had the end of it. England had _enough_ of America's foolishness. He was too angry and frustrated and heated up all because of what the American said. He didn't even know now if this was the same America he raised from a tot. One thing was for sure though: _this_ America didn't know what came to him.

"To hell with Philippines' _siesta_!" England retorted, banging the table again. "You _bought_ Philippines for twenty _million_ dollars? How could you? Seriously, I don't even know now if I raised you or no!"

America sighed for the nth time. "Well at least she _doesn't know_!" he argued, still sitting upon his wooden chair and looking up at the standing, obviously outraged English man. "Basically, me and Spain—"

"—Spain and _I_."

"Hey, this is about me remember?" America argued, frowning at England for having corrected him. England only sighed at this and thought: _'Where did his English go...?'_

"Anyway, as I was saying," America continued, crossing his legs and crossed his arms. His diamond blue eyes were a bit mischievous as he looked at the frustrated England. "Basically, our superiors talked it out in Paris. All we needed to do was to give them twenty mill and we're good to go. Plus, they threw in Guam and Puerto Rico! Isn't that great?" America stated, feeling hyped and proud of himself as he stood up, smiling brightly, hoping that England would sense his pride.

Indeed England sensed his pride. But being as he is, he crushed it. "No," he deadpanned, making America frown. "It is _not_ great, America!" he continued. "Because the fifty million _pounds_ I gave you went to this deal with Spain!" he complained as America gruffly groaned, sitting back on the wooden chair and looked away stubbornly.

"It didn't go to Spain..." America mumbled, huffed and blinked. "...It went to military supplies."

"AMERICA!" England exclaimed exasperatedly as he finally threw his hands up in the air. "AUGH!" he groaned, turning around and began pacing in the room, as if it was the only way to let all his frustrations go. England exhaled, held his nose bridge as if there was a nose bleed coming on, then bowed his head again. He turned to America to say something but only ended up having his mouth agape with no words to say.

America only watched, both amused and confused. But hey, it was quite a show. England kept doing the same routine until he finally crashed on the wooden chair. His head finally had given up on him, giving him a searing headache instead of an answer. England's hand groped the table until finally finding his cylindrical glass. Then he drank the remaining water in the glass before setting it down again, ice clinking to each other.

America, meanwhile, leaned over and gave England a toothy grin at which the English man despised it. There were times that he wanted to punch his face in and this was probably one of those times.

"Don't worry," America started.

"Don't worry my foot, you bloody git," England murmured in a slur as he brought his arms to rest before his face.

"All little Philippines knows is that I, the Hero, had won her from Spain through a battle!" America started, smiling as if he had the best plan ever. England flinched at the word "Hero". "Isn't that the best plan ever?"

England rolled his eyes and looked away, too disappointed and vexed at the fact that America wasted his borrowed money for his military. If not, his burgers then.

* * *

It was that afternoon when England decided to depart. He took his coat and his sweater—which were neatly folded by the living room— and stared at them for the longest time. He sighed as America came in, still not done blabbering. Just by the sound of America's voice made him so frustrated and vexed. He took his coat, hung it on his arm, then his sweater and did the same. He finally turned around to face America and gave him his most serious face.

"Stop!" England exclaimed. Indeed, this one word stopped the talking American and looked at him curiously. "I don't care how the rice fields look in the morning, I don't care how the carabaos are so friendly or how their liquor tastes good," England started. He made sure that his emerald eyes pierced through America's hard-coated brain.

"Just. Give me. My money. Back," England ended sternly. "Got it? Now I'll be coming back everyday to get my money," he said, walking towards the wooden door (it seemed that almost everything here was made out of wood) and groped the knob. Then, he turned to America. "No funny business," he ended and opened the door and walked out.

"Good night." _BANG!_

America closed an eye at the sound of the door banging. When England left, he sighed exasperatedly at the door.

. . t b c . .

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Sorry if it is short. Err... I was a little inspired today. So yeah... hmm... Anyway, if you think this chapter doesn't make sense, it does. Even if there isn't Philippines in it. Anyway. There. So uh... goodbye! Review please!


	3. Chapter III

Oh wow, hey guys~ Thanks for the great great great reviews and I appreciate them a lot! Like, totally. Haha. I noticed that I haven't updated since January 21 of last year (ugh. D:) so for you guys, the third chapter! :D

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**-Chapter III-**

It was nearing the end of the afternoon at that same day when England had tiredly stumbled upon a local fish market. At this hour, he had seen almost the complete opposite of what he had seen earlier: quiet, calm and a little bit clean with few people going about to and fro. Right now, it bustled with people who shouted about their produce here and there (or so what the Englishman could decipher) while some others, mostly women in humble clothing and scraggly buns, walked about to and fro, looking at the products. There was also a despicable stench in the air that picked at England's nose and spelled fish in it.

At this scene, England was beginning to debate to himself whether or not he should just turn around and walk away but he guessed he didn't have much choice then, since the road that sliced between one half of vendors to another led him out of the territory faster. He had to handle it, he thought furthermore. With a final sigh, England painstakingly prodded through the fish market.

_"Oy, oy, bili na diyan ng isda. Isda po, o! O ginoong naka-sombrero, bili na po ng isda! (_Oy, oy, buy some fish here. Fish here, o! You there, mister in a hat, buy some fish here!)" one vendor shouted. England deciphered that it was him that the vendor had called out to, since they had exchanged glances but the already weary (and possibly famished) England had chosen to ignore it.

He closed his eyes and heaved a heavy sigh as he pinched his nose bridge. "...You can get through this," he grumbled to himself after almost having bumped a pair of children, aging at around seven or eight (yet looking like five or so), that ran past him.

The calls and shouts continued on through the rest of England's small walk. The stench lived on too, and it made it hard for England to continue. The addition of the unbearable heat and the collection of different body heats made it harder for the man who was always comfortable with a cooler temperature. Yet, he kept thinking to himself that he would make it through... that he _should_ make it through.

After several minutes though, England stopped dead in his tracks.

_"Ale, magkano po ang kilo ng manok? (_Miss, how much for a kilo of chicken?)" a small girl, vaguely familiar to the English, asked as she eyed several poultry. Her tanned skin looked fresher than before and thank god, she was wearing a cleaner set of clothes. Her black silky hair though, was still in an unkempt bun that tempted to fall off. From England's distance, much to his surprise, he could see more of the little girl's features, such as her bright black eyes that glinted with sheer innocence of a child (as she was), her small button nose crinkled a bit as she looked at the poultry with delight and her smile was the most child-like of all. It all fitted her. She looked so carefree yet responsible, untamed yet well-mannered, childish but adult-like. She was a perfect sense of contrasts that somehow fit together.

However, to England, one thing had come through his mind. _'Damn that bloody git for letting such a girl do all the dirty work,'_ he said with much vexation. This thought tempted him to come nearer and help the little girl, as such was his nature of a gentleman. But another part of him hesitated, telling him that he'd waste his time on a little girl, younger than him, more so.

_'But who would even let a little girl go out and do the groceries?'_ one side of his mind argued. _'As a gentleman, we must assist the child!'_

_'Damn it, no!' _the other shouted. _'If you want to get out of this hell-hole, then we should leave to her own business.'_

And so it went on for England, who kept debating with himself on whether to help the girl or be on his way. He wanted to be a true gentleman yet be a bit selfish. He had enough for the day, he was ready to crash but the thought of America (a much older and capable _man_, to say) leaving Philippines (a younger _girl_) to do all the work while he rests away was bugging him, poking him in brain, in the gut and possibly in many other places as well that it made his whole body uncomfortable.

"...Damn it, I want to get out..." he grumbled, raising a fist as he closed his eyes. He stomped once then sighed as he made his way, hesitantly and painstakingly, towards the small girl, who had handed a bunch of coins to the vendor. Philippines smiled gleefully as she recieved the chicken meat and said a small thank you in her own native language.

England stopped by her and cleared his throat, not wanting to start the conversation directly. The small girl stopped and set her eyes on the towering foreign man. "A-Ah, g-good... good aft... aft..." Philippines stuttered as she tried to get the words out of her lips in an acceptable English since she knew that England wouldn't understand her if she spoke in Filipino.

"...Afternoon?" England finished as he eyed her more meticulously. He had taken note that she was carrying one of those woven bags and it looked like she use it for carrying the goods, and that she was wearing a worn out pair of rubber slippers.

"Ah! G-Good afternoon!" Philippines said in a brighter tone as she reached her hand out for England's. Such was her culture to make a respectable move. England had noted this and stopped her midway.

"I-It's okay, little one," he excused as Philippines took a step back and smiled. "You don't have to," he continued as he looked at Philippines who just smiled back. England was a bit baffled that the kid wasn't scared or intimidated of him, _at all._ Usually, kids her age (more or less) would be scared of his strict and straight atmosphere. His curiosity piqued even more at this.

"...Where is... America?" England asked as he cleared his throat once more just to relieve the awkward situation.

"Kuya 'Merica... is... home..." the girl replied, striving to make her broken English recognizable at the least. It worked, of course, as it gave England the urge to glove slap America to oblivion. Of course, England thought, that that would be ineffective. America never learned. Not now, not _ever_.

Snapping back to the situation, England looked back at Philippines and sighed. "What are you doing out, late... Philippines, am I right?" he said as he was unsure of her monicker. He heard America introduce her earlier but didn't really listen as rage was only in his mind at that time. The girl replied with a gleeful nod then looked around, as if she was finding something. Eventually, she raised her woven basket up for England to see and somehow understand why she was out at that time.

"...Fresh... ingredients!" she squeaked. "...For _hapunan_."

England looked in the basket: vegetables, a couple of fish and some chicken meat. The Englishman figured that _hapunan_ meant dinner as it was nearing evening and the only meal that can be eaten at that hour was dinner. He looked around and saw that almost everybody was doing the same as Philippines was: shopping for dinner.

"Are you... finished, yet?" England asked after straightening himself and making it sound like it wasn't awkward. The girl looked at England for a while and blinked at him blankly. Seeing this, England sighed and figured that what he was saying didn't make much sense to her. Of course, he thought, mentally slapping himself, stupid language barrier.

He bent down at Philippines' eye level, the latter's gaze following his. "Are you... done? Buying... ingredients...?" he said rather slowly, wanting to be understood this time. It looked like it worked because Philippines brightened up and smiled, giggling as she nodded. England sighed, thinking to himself that the small country might have not known what the word 'finished' was yet.

"I will... go home... now..." Philippines said gleefully as she tried to speak in English, as painful as it was for her as she didn't know much. But this fact was masked by her current face value as she looked more innocent that ever.

"I will walk you home, is that okay?" England said as kindly as he could. He tried to mellow down his voice into a soft and smooth one, hoping to attract the young girl into walking with him. However, this hadn't work by just looking at Philippines' rather horrified face. It was clear to England that the language barrier won once again and he would _never_ have any chance in interacting with children ever.

"_Oy, ginugulo ka ba nitong bastardong ito? _(Hey, is this bastard messing with you?)" a skinny tanned man behind Philippines said. Obviously, the people in the place didn't like what was going on, concerning that England did scare Philippines maybe a tiny bit. England may not have fully understood what the man had said but he presumed that the man called him a bastard. This made England both nervous and angry.

However, the little girl twirled around and shook her palms at the man. " _H-Hindi ho! I-Ingles po siya!_ (N-No sir! H-He's English!)" Philippines replied with a rather terrified tone. To the young girl, any more trouble was the last thing she needed for that day. She hadn't taken it into liking. To England, her tone made him even more tense.

"_Ah, ganon ba? Sabihin mo lang kapag ginugulo ka nitong bastardong ito, ah. _(Oh, is that so? Just tell me if that bastard is messing with you, ok.)" There was that word again. Bastard. "_Umuwi ka na kaya. Baka kung ano pang gawin sa iyo. _(Why don't you go home. Who knows what else he could do to you.)" England winced. These people were talking about him _in front of him_. _In his face._ Had these people no shame or was it the fact that he was English that enabled them to talk about him? He hated not having to know.

"_O-Opo. Pauwi na po ako, manong,_ (Y-Yes sir. I'm actually on my way home now, sir.)" the younger nation said respectfully as the man smiled at the small girl, clearly not having known of her status as the country yet. Before the man left, he gave England the eye, much to the Englishman's dismay as he furrowed his thick eyebrows at him.

"I will go home now," Philippines said amidst England's train of silent death threats at that man. England looked back at Philippines and tried his best not to smile. Rather, he cleared his throat.

"I... I apologize," he said clearly, making Philippines' head tilt a bit. A few hair strands finally fell from her bun. England sighed once more. "I am sorry," he repeated just so Philippines could understand. And that she did as she looked at England with a sad tint in her eye. It was the innocence of her working, looking at England with her saucer-like eyes. "...I wanted to... walk with you... to your home," he repeated, this time making gestures that were understandable.

Philippines only giggled solemnly at him and nodded. "I... forgive... you," she replied, still struggling. "...You can... walk... with me..." she added, making the same gestures as England did with her own comparably smaller hands. "...Home," she finished as she pointed behind England. The older man looked behind him and sighed.

_'Damn it... looks like I'm going to have to go back,'_ he thought to himself as he watched Philippines walk by with his emerald eyes. Philippines looked as if she was really excited to go back as she was pulling on England's coat like a child.

"...Follow," she only said as she began to walk, her rubber slippers flopping on the unpaved dirt.

* * *

He had to admit it, but the night seemed more peaceful than the day. And England wasn't even a night person himself. Although it was comparably more pitch dark than his homeland, the night was soothing as the constant chirping of crickets filled the air. A little bit of a night breeze also flew by, making it colder than the day.

Nonetheless, it didn't stop England from classifying the night in Philippines' homeland as eerie.

From their thirty minute walk, England had found out that Philippines can understand a little bit of English, hence her adorable (and yet a little bit disgusting, to him) attatchment to America. She found him as more of a big brother than a superior despite America calling Philippines his colony in front of her face. Maybe she didn't know what a 'colony' meant yet and it might be one of England's first lessons to Philippines.

He actually pitied the younger nation. The little lass had just got out of Spain's grasp recently and now America was deciding on taking over the little country. Yet she didn't know what was happening even though she had noticed already that no Filipino (including her) could make entry into her capital yet. And he had to admit that America was smart doing that.

Philippines stopped before a road of trees, making England stop as well. At this point, the older nation was more curious than furious as to why they had stopped. He proceeded in asking, only to recieve silence from her. Next thing he knew, the smaller nation called out to the forest: "_Tabi tabi po!"_

England blinked. What was she doing? Was this some kind of nature call? Was a police force going to show up and capture England from earlier's ruckus? That, he didn't know but he waited, silent and still. Philippines waited as well, waiting for England to copy her. Of course, England hadn't known that.

The girl looked up at England and tugged on him. "Follow," she urged as she pouted. England looked down at her with curious eyes and sighed. He figured that Philippines wanted to follow her into saying such thing, but he didn't know how.

"Er... uh... Ta...bi... tabi po?" he said in a rather humorous accent that it almost made Philippines giggle.

_"Makikiraan lang po! _(We're just going to pass through!)" Philippines followed after then walked ahead, pulling England in with her. However baffled he was, the Englishman followed, looking at Philippines with a wondering eye. He was about to ask when the smaller girl just looked up at him with those same innocent eyes, matching it with a toothy grin. "Spirits," she only said and it took only that to convince England for England was also a spiritual guy in that same sense too.

After a few minutes of more walking (England hadn't counted, he was too tired from walking almost all day long), a hint of yellow light had come along their sight, settling it at the end of the road. Philippines only smiled up to the towering man and said: "Home" in the most gleeful way. England was starting to wonder if this was really worth the time but settled that aside as of now. The man sighed for the nth time that day as he was both tired, hungry and annoyed to his extent.

As the two got nearer, he noticed that the smaller girl let go of England's hand eventually and knocked on the wooden door. England just watched from where he stood, just outside the Spanish patio, shuffling his feet from soreness. Heavy footsteps occurred inside as Philippines waited patiently, her small stature rocking back and forth. Finally, the door opened with an overly worried American beaming at the small country. He was wearing the same clothes from earlier and probably (or most likely) didn't bathe since the last they saw each other. The yellow light from inside had poured out and shone on the ground up until where England stood.

"Oh my god, Philippines! You're home! Oh my god, oh my god!" America blabbered on, making England wince once or maybed twice from America's high pitched sounds of relief. The bigger man had proceeded to hug the smaller country as the latter was just giggling away. Truly, for England, America had meant a lot to the girl. Almost like a father figure.

Only stupider.

And more annoying.

And probably denser.

England could go on with the adjectives he had for America but was cut off when America was loudly talking to Philippines. "Oh my god, you're cooking chicken _adobow_ tonight? Sweet!" he said. Take note of the added 'w' as that was really the way that America had said it. It sounded humorously painful to the ear as he said it. "C'mon! Get inside! I'm starving!" America laughed as the little girl laughed along, obviously oblivious to the fact that it was a command from the bigger nation. America continued to laugh as he watched Philippines scamper away playfully into the kitchen.

"Oh hey, Iggy!" America greeted after a few good minutes. England wondered at how long America had taken notice of him. "Thanks for bringing little Philippines home. She's scared of the dark y'know."

England raised a brow at the nation, somehow not getting why America would say such a thing about the little girl. Philippines hadn't shown any signs of fear around him or at the night as they were walking together. "What made you say that?" England said sourly and skeptically at him.

"Oh she's afraid of this _tikbalang_ thing," America said, laughing at the foolishness that was of the little girl's brain. "She said that it comes and kidnaps little girls and marries them off. Has a horse for a head but could stand on his hind legs. Has hands of a human. Freaky right? I bet it doesn't exist anyways," the nation continued optimistically, looking at England with a cheeky grin unbeknownst to him.

"But she believes it does?" England inquired blankly, trying not to sound interested in it. He didn't want to get involved in many things. He always liked to be alone. Such was his attitude.

"Oh yeah. She does. But that's why she has me as her hero!" America said, jerking his thumb to himself. "I kick the air once or twice and it goes away... well... she says it does..." he mumbled as his eyes cast down, looking curious. He then looked at England with a cat-like smile and those annoying blue eyes. "Y'know, the two of you could go along real swell!" he added, making the other nation jump in his place in surprise.

"No... no thank you," England mumbled in reply.

All of a sudden, a high pitched scream of a little girl resonated around the house, making America only wince but England cover his ears altogether. "_TIKBALANG! TIKBALANG!"_

"Oh, be right back, dude," America said, smiling as he ran for the kitchen. "Don't worry! Your hero is here!" he called, leaving England at where he stood, just outside the patio looking so dumbfounded. From his place, his ears could pick up crashing sounds of pots and pans, so ear-pricking and more little girl screams.

"AAAIIIIEEEE!"

"HAMBURGER KICK!"

England hadn't bothered to move from his place. Seeing such atrosity would be the last he needed. He only sighed at the ongoing foolishness and prayed to himself that everything wasn't happening. But everything was happening, right now, from where he was standing.

The noises died down inside but more shouts can be heard from America saying: "And stay out, you freakish monster!" England knew that it was all an act for the bigger country but groaned nonetheless at the stupidity. Even if he did believe in fairies, elves, pirates, flying mint bunnies and all that jazz, he believed that a girl her age was just making that up. Heck, he believed that Spain only made those things up to scare poor little Philippines. Living next or almost near to Spain, he knew that the Spaniard had a knack to do that to little children just to show his rather childish side.

But boy, was England wrong.

From where he was standing, he heard the clapping of hooves and the whining of a horse. England turned to look, slightly, just slighty, at the the side of the house, where he believed where the kitchen was. And there he saw, with the remaining house light he had been offered, a horse, clopping away from the house with human-like hands clutching onto his snout. It seemed to be crying as it entered the woods and finally disappeared.

England swore that the color on his face almost vanished.

. . t b c . .

* * *

Oh hey look. Philippines was in this chapter! Hooray! xD So yeah... I got lazy at the end, I'm sorry. TT-TT But I will try and update as possible as I can. R&R you guys! :D


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